Free Bucks 11 Plus Practice Questions: Sample Questions with Answers and Explanations
Free Bucks 11 plus practice questions give children their first direct experience of what the Buckinghamshire Secondary Transfer Test involves before investing in a full preparation programme. The questions below cover all five subject areas of the GL Assessment Bucks test: verbal reasoning, comprehension, mathematics, non-verbal reasoning, and spatial reasoning. Each question is followed by the correct answer and a detailed explanation of the strategy — because in 11 plus preparation, understanding why an answer is correct is as valuable as knowing what the answer is.
How to Get the Most from These Questions
Work through each question with your child before reading the answer. Encourage them to articulate their thinking — "what relationship are these words in?" or "what is changing in this sequence?" — before they select from the options. The habit of identifying a strategy before reaching for an answer is one of the most valuable test technique habits to develop early. Guessing from the options without first thinking about what the answer should be is slower, less accurate, and harder to correct than approaching each question type with a learned strategy.
Verbal Reasoning Sample Questions
Question 1: Word Analogy
"Hot is to Cold as Fast is to: (A) Quick (B) Slow (C) Speed (D) Race." Answer: B — Slow. The relationship is opposites. Hot and cold are antonyms; fast and slow are antonyms. Quick is a synonym of fast (wrong relationship), Speed is a noun related to fast (wrong relationship), Race involves speed (associated but not the right relationship). Always identify the relationship type before looking at the options.
Question 2: Odd One Out
"Identify the odd one out: Daisy, Rose, Tulip, Oak, Daffodil." Answer: Oak. Daisy, rose, tulip, and daffodil are all flowering plants. Oak is a tree — it does not produce ornamental flowers in the same way as the others. The category shared by four is "flowering plants typically grown in gardens"; oak is excluded because it is a large deciduous tree, not a garden flower.
Question 3: Letter Code
"If A is coded as D, B is coded as E, and C is coded as F (each letter moves three positions forward in the alphabet), what is the code for CAT?" Answer: FDW. C → F (3 forward), A → D (3 forward), T → W (3 forward). Apply the same shift consistently to each letter.
Question 4: Hidden Word
"Find the hidden word: 'She sat in the garden.'" — boundary of "sat" and "in" gives SATIN. Answer: SATIN is hidden spanning "sat" and "in". Always scan each word boundary left to right, one at a time.
Mathematics Sample Questions
Question 5: Fractions
"What is 2/5 of 350?" Answer: 140. Method: 1/5 of 350 = 70. 2/5 = 2 × 70 = 140. Quick mental method: divide by 5, multiply by 2.
Question 6: Percentage
"A book costs £24. It is reduced by 25%. What is the sale price?" Answer: £18. 25% of £24 = £6 (25% = 1/4; 24 ÷ 4 = 6). Sale price = £24 − £6 = £18.
Question 7: Word Problem
"A train leaves at 08:45 and arrives at 10:20. How long is the journey?" Answer: 1 hour 35 minutes. From 08:45 to 09:00 = 15 minutes. From 09:00 to 10:20 = 1 hour 20 minutes. Total = 1 hour 35 minutes.
Question 8: Ratio
"Share £90 in the ratio 2:3:5." Answer: £18, £27, £45. Total parts: 2+3+5 = 10. One part = £90 ÷ 10 = £9. First share: 2 × £9 = £18. Second: 3 × £9 = £27. Third: 5 × £9 = £45. Check: £18 + £27 + £45 = £90 ✓
Non-Verbal Reasoning Sample Questions
Question 9: Series
"A series of circles is shown: the first has one small triangle inside, the second has two, the third has three. The circles also increase slightly in size with each step. What comes next?" Answer: A circle (slightly larger again) containing four small triangles. Strategy: identify all dimensions of change — count (1, 2, 3 → 4), size (increasing → continues increasing).
Question 10: Odd One Out
"Five shapes: a square with 4 dots, a triangle with 3 dots, a pentagon with 5 dots, a hexagon with 6 dots, a circle with 4 dots." Answer: the circle with 4 dots. The pattern shared by four shapes is that the number of dots equals the number of sides. The circle has no sides — 4 dots does not match 0 sides.
Spatial Reasoning Sample Question
Question 11: Net of a 3D Shape
"Which of the following nets folds to make a cube: (A) a cross shape of 6 squares, (B) a row of 6 squares, (C) an L-shape of 4 squares plus 2 more, (D) a T-shape of 5 squares?" Answer: A — a cross shape of 6 squares is one of the 11 valid nets of a cube. A row of 6 squares (B) does not fold into a cube as two opposite faces would overlap. Physical practice with paper folding is the best way to develop reliable spatial reasoning on net questions.
Key Takeaways
- Work through each question before reading the answer — then read the strategy explanation
- The goal is learning strategies, not producing a score — these are introduction questions, not assessment
- Identify which question types feel most unfamiliar and prioritise these in systematic preparation
- Progress to full timed GL-format practice papers once all five subject areas have been introduced
- Discuss reasoning together — articulating thinking develops the meta-cognitive skills the test rewards
- Physical practice (folding, building) is essential for spatial reasoning questions — not just paper exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I find more free practice questions?
GL Assessment's official website offers familiarisation materials. Several educational publishers provide free sample questions online — ensure they are GL Assessment format.
Are these questions the same difficulty as the real test?
These samples are introductory and broadly representative of easier-to-medium difficulty within each question type. The real test includes questions at a range of difficulties. Full timed practice papers give a more accurate picture of the complete difficulty range and the time pressure.
My child got most of these right — does that mean they are ready?
Not necessarily. These are untimed introductory questions. Consistent performance in timed full papers under proper exam conditions is the relevant measure of readiness.